The (Original) Adventures of Ford Fairlane: The Long Lost Rock n’ Roll Detective Stories

Before the movie about a rock n’ roll detective there were Rex Weiner’s noirish stories, capturing the punk rock 1970s in New York and Los Angeles in all their gritty glory. First published in the New York Rocker and the LA Weekly in 1979-1980, the stories became the basis for the 20th Century Fox motion picture starring Andrew Dice Clay. From CBGBs, the Mudd Club, and Tier 3 in NYC to the Starwood, Zero Zero and Cuckoo’s Nest in LA, Ford Fairlane takes you back to a sexy, violent and explosively creative time and place that live on in rock ‘n’ roll legend, brought authentically to life in these hardboiled stories, published by Rare Bird Books.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING…

“Don’t let Andrew Dice Clay prevent you from reading this. Substitute J. J. Gittes and you’ll have a great ride. From coast to coast Ford Fairlane knows his way around the scene. With Tom Waits-like prose, you’ll be out hipped, Rex Weiner is so hip.”
―John Densmore, The Doors

“If you miss the New York City that was edgy, messy, filthy, after-hours, and off-the-books―you know, the city with a rock and roll heart―please welcome back Ford Fairlane.”
―Joe Nick Patoski, author of Stevie Ray Vaughan: Caught in the Crossfire, and Willie Nelson: An Epic Life, host of the Texas Music Hour of Power, Marfa Public Radio

“A flip Philip Marlowe and hipster Sam Spade, Ford Fairlane’s lively capers capture the color and crackle of vintage New Wave New York, from the funky clubs to the danger-fraught streets. Rex Weiner takes us on a cool, rhythmic ride.”
―Joe Kane, editor of VideoScope Magazine

“Ford Fairlane distills the feisty swagger of downtown New York in the mad, broke, striving, glorious ’70s.”
―Nancy Naglin, author of The Salvation Army Tales and You Owe Me An Answer

“Fast paced, engaging storytelling, pure adrenaline! If Philip Marlowe was reincarnated as a Punk Rock PI navigating the devastated war zone of downtown Manhattan in the late 70s, he would look a lot like Rex Weiner’s unforgettable Ford Fairlane.”
―Jonathan Shaw, Author of Narcisa: Our Lady of Ashes and Scab Vendor: Confessions of a Tattoo Artist

“I never learned how to drive a car, but I sure know subservience storytelling when I read dark humor. Rex presents a serious satire on the whole punk-rock scene. Written almost 40 years ago, it’s even more entertaining now, using traditional private-eye genre in a new way. What’s next? No driver?”
―Paul Krassner, author of Confessions of a Raving, Unconfined Nut, editor The Realist